Manatee

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO　　TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Manatee

***** Location: North America
***** Season: All Summer
***** Category: Animal

*****************************
Explanation


WEST INDIAN MANATEE
Trichechus manatus

DESCRIPTION:
The West Indian Manatee is a large gray or brown aquatic mammal. Adults average about 10 feet long and weigh 1,000 pounds. They have no hindlimbs, and their forelimbs are modified as flippers. Manatee tails are flattened horizontally and rounded. Their body is covered with sparse hairs and their muzzles with stiff whiskers. Sexes are distinguished by the position of the genital openings and presence or absence of mammary glands.

Manatees will consume any aquatic vegetation available to them and sometimes even shoreline vegetation. Although primarily herbivorous, they will occasionally feed on fish. Manatees may spend about 5 hours a day feeding, and may consume 4 to 9 percent of their body weight a day.

RANGE AND POPULATION LEVEL:
During the winter months, the United States' manatee population confines itself to the coastal waters of the southern half of peninsular Florida and to springs and warm water outfalls as far north as southeast Georgia. Manatees also winter in the St. Johns River near Blue Spring State Park. During summer months, they may migrate as far north as coastal Virginia on the east coast and the Louisiana coast on the Gulf of Mexico.

Manatee populations also exist outside the continental United States in coastal areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America. In Puerto Rico, manatees apparently occur around the southern and eastern end of the island and around nearby Vieques Island. Except for rare sightings, manatees seem to be absent from the Virgin Islands at present, but fossils have been found in middens on St. Croix.

The population of manatees in Florida has been estimated to be at least 1,865 individuals. There are an estimated 60 to 100 manatees in Puerto Rico. In the last decade, yearly mortality in Florida has averaged nearly 150 animals a year, double that of the preceding decade. The average proportion of first-year calves in the population is 10 percent with a range of 5 to 15 percent.

Read a lot more here:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/a/saa0c.html


http://myfwc.com/manatee/

Annual Manatee Events & Festivals
Related Links

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As for seasonal habits, there's one well known manatee named Chessiewho migrates up the east coast each summer. So many web sites on him that I'm just giving you the google search page:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=manatee+chessie&ie=UTF-8&oe=\UTF-8

Linda Papanicolaou



*****************************
Worldwide use


*****************************
Things found on the way


*****************************
HAIKU

a whirlpool glows in the estuary -- manatee

a mermaid* plays in the bay -- milkyway

*the mermaid myth was thought to come from manatee sightings

Chibi (Dennis Holmes)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx




storms approach
old manatee
bids adieu

© Haiga by Shanna Moore and Photo by Paula Fisher



*****************************
Related words

***** dugong (Dugong dugon)
topic for haiku

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. They contain three of the four living species in the order Sirenia, the other being the dugong, which is native to the Eastern Hemisphere.
The clearest visible difference between manatees and dugongs is in the shape of the tail; a manatee tail is paddle-shaped, while a dugong tail is fluked, similar in shape to a that of a whale.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Dugongs are most often seen alone or in pairs, usually a mother and her calf, but they have been sighted in large herds of several hundred. Dugongs have multiple mating partners, and may breed year-round. Their mating behavior involves groups of male dugongs splashing, tail-thrashing, and lunging as they compete for a single female.
　source : www.reef.edu.au

Although Dugongs breed year round, they show some seasonality, with mating and calving apparently peaking in spring and summer especially in the higher latitude limits of their range (Marsh 1999c).
source : www.hsus.org/marine_mammals

Compiled by Kathy Earsman, Australia


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　


Back to the Worldkigo Index
http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

May (gogatsu)

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

May (gogatsu 五月)

***** Location: Japan, worldwide
***** Season: Early Summer
***** Category: Season

*****************************
Explanation


Haiku gogatsu in the Edo period relates to the climate of present-day June,
but some festivals are dated in our present-day May.

. . Names of Japanese months and their meanings . .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

gogatsu 五月 "ごがつ" fifth month, may
gogatsu kuru 五月来る（ごがつくる）may comes
seigo gatsu 聖五月（せいごがつ） "Holy Month of May"
in Christianity, it is dedicated to Mary

gogatsu jin 五月尽 (ごがつじん ) last day of the fifth month
Now the fine weather is soon over and the rainy season will start.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


May―Travelers' Eyes
By Inahata Teiko

Summer is believed to begin about May the 5th, which is said to be the first day of summer in the traditional Japanese calendar. Young green leaves come out at this time of early summer, and it is the most refreshing and pleasant season in the year. Therefore I think there are many people going on a journey. 　The title "Travelers' Eyes" given to this chapter doesn't necessarily suggest that we should go traveling.

　We have many reasons or purposes for traveling. I think the essence of traveling may reside in the following example: travels when we get tired of his daily life, we lose our way or we hope to part from what we used to be. Don't you think so?

　Nature, which we meet and find out during traveling, is fresh to our eyes. Such an encounter with a new nature, which we have not noticed in repeated daily life, gives us pleasure and comfort.

　Namely, turning our eyes to new things that we haven't noticed till now means the new birth of ourselves. Therefore traveling is a chance to find real and new ourselves and to become another new person. It is not too much to say that people go traveling to search for a new encounter.

　But considering of it, nature which we meet at unfamiliar place might be the samenature that we view in our country. In fact, the familiar sights of the mountain, the river, flowers and birds around us are becoming new and fresh in every moment according to the change of season. If we view things with the above-mentioned concept, we are able to experience a new encounter every minute and have opportunity to discover ourselves just around us.

　I recommend that those who don't go traveling should welcome the morning with the feeling of traveling and look around yourselves with the eyes of travelers.

© Inahata Teiko
http://www.kyoshi.or.jp/12month/12month-5.htm

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Japan in May

May 1-5: Giant Kite Battle at Suwa Shrine
This particular festival goes back to 1550. Huge kites are flown by teams and each team tries the cut the cords of the other kites with their own kite.

May 3: Constitution Day
The Constitution of Japan came into force on May 3, 1947 leading to the annual celebration of the event. This constitution was written while the country was still under American occupation and reflects Western thinking in that it holds that sovereignty lies with the people and not the Emperor, and that people have fundamental human rights. It also renounces war.
On this day in Tokyo the Diet building is opened to the general public.

May 2nd or 3rd: Hachiju-hachiya
This is the celebration of the first day of spring. After this date frost almost never appears. The best time of the year to pick leaves that will be made into tea is also in the two to three week period after this celebration.

May 3rd and 4th: Hakata Dontaku Festival
The festival takes place in the city of Fukuoka in northern Kyushu and evolved from a folk art practiced during the Muromachi Period (1333-1568). It was at that time performed by farmers and townspeople as a New Year's greeting for the local landowner and/or leader. People dressed up as gods of good fortune and paraded to music.
Floats and platforms with dolls were added during the Edo Period (1600-1868).

May 5: Children's Day
This holiday was built on the foundation of an older Tango no Sekku observance which was on the fifth day of the fifth month and celebrated the male offspring of a family. Households flew colorful carp streamers, one for each sun. Miniature sets of armor and model warriors were displayed in the homes.

As the holiday it is today it was started in 1948 and now is to celebrate the healthy growth and happiness of children of both sexes.
Families also take baths on this day in water sprinkled with iris leaves and roots since the iris is thought to promote good health and ward off evil. Rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and filled with sweet bean paste are also eaten on this day.
World Kigo Database: Carp Streamers and Children's Day


Second Sunday in May: Mother's Day
Carnations are given to Mothers on this day. It was first celebrated by Christians in Japan around 1913, grew considerably in the 1930's, was halted during World War II and was revived after the war.
Children will also buy their mothers gifts and help out with chores on this day.
World Kigo Database: Mother's Day


May 15: Aoi Festival
This is a festival held in Kyoto at the Kamigamo Shrine. It is dated back to the 8th century.
Some five hundred people dress up in ancient imperial court dress and have carriages pulled by oxen. There is a parade, a Shinto ritual and a private Imperial service.

May 14-16: Kanda Myojin Festival
This festival is held in Tokyo and is some 1400 years old. Many costumes of the Heian Period are worn during the parade.
Daruma Pilgrims in Japan: Kanda Myoojin and Zenigata

3rd weekend of May: Sanja Festival
This is another Tokyo festival and became popular during the Edo Period (1600-1868). Various portable shrines are paraded about through crowded streets near the Asakusa Shrine. The portable shrines are not light, however, weighing perhaps up to a ton yet many people will vie with each other for the privilege of helping to carry the shrine.

Late May: Mid-term exams
Tests are usually given at this time in Japanese, mathematics, science, social studies and English. All extracurricular activities and clubs are canceled for a week before midterms to allow students time to prepare for the tests.

Each test is important to the students as the results on their tests end up determining what type of high school, college or university they can enter which itself largely determines what kind of job they will be able to get so competition on these exams is quite keen.

Japanese Festivals of all months
January .. .. February .. .. March .. .. April .. .. May .. .. June .. .. July .. .. August .. .. September .. .. October .. .. November .. .. December
http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/jfestival.html



*****************************
Worldwide use

Germany

Mai, der Wonnemonat Mai
alles Neu macht der Mai


Leis' in den Maien
der Morgenregen trommelt
ein Marienlied

Beate Conrad, 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Southern Hemisphere, Tropics ...
Adjustments for each region must be made.

Calendar reference kigo


*****************************
Things found on the way


*****************************
HAIKU

May evening
the last boat lingers
at the pier


May cloud
dandelion fluff
and no wind

Ella Wagemakers, Holland, May 2009


*****************************
Related words

***** May First, May Day, First of May
メーデー (mee dii)

worker's festival, roodoo sai 労働祭（ろうどうさい）
..... roodoo setsu 労働節（ろうどうせつ）
"May Festival", gogatsu sai 五月祭（ごがつさい）
"May Day Song", meedii ka メーデー歌（めーでーか）
"May Day Flag", meedii ki メーデー旗（めーでーき）


may day...
its lei day
in Hawaii

Shanna Baldwin



WKD : "May Day" in England


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Names of the Months
Calendar reference kigo

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. . . . SUMMER
the complete SAIJIKI


. WKD : May - KIGO CALENDAR .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Testfile

[ . BACK to TOP . ]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Martisor Romania

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　


Mărţişor - Martisor (the amulet)

***** Location: Romania
***** Season: Spring (March 1)
***** Category: Observance

*****************************
Explanation

On March 1-st, commonly regarded as the beginning of spring, Romanians present a small object called “Mărţişor” to all the important women in their lives. This object consists of 2 interwoven threads, one read, the other white.
White symbolizes winter, red, spring and nature coming out of hibernation. It is similar to the Bulgarian “martenitza”, from which it differs, in that small crafted objects symbolizing good fortune (hooves, four-leaved shamrock, chimney-sweeper figures etc.) are attached to the 2 threads.

It is then worn by women (pinned to their clothes) for amounts of time varying for each region (for 8 days, for the whole of March, until Easter etc.). It is not a Valentine’s day kind of thing, no one ever attached any erotic symbolism to it. It can be given to sweethearts, but also to mothers, sisters, daughters, neighbors, clients , even your boss, if she’s a woman; schoolteachers usually have impressive collections. On leap years, men may also receive a “Mărţişor”.

Cristian Mocanu

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



More than two thousands years ago, the Dacians had that tradition on March 1st. The Dacians God who was celebrated at the beginning of March was named "Marsyas Silen". He was the inventor of flute (shepherd's whistle) and he had the most greatest influence upon the entire nature. The Amulet's meaning was greatly enlarged. It was considered to be a protective charm for children and animals in the next coming year.

Those tiny pebbles were changed into a couple of yarns, one colored in red and one colored in white. Red meant the Sun, the power of fire, passion and woman, and white meant the benefits of water, clouds, winter but also man's intelligence. The combination of those colors can be interpreted as the union of man and woman, these two opposite forces who will determine a new life cycle.

Read more about it here:
http://blog.livedoor.jp/worldkigo/archives/25792862.html

Original
http://social.moldova.org/articole/eng/357

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Here is another link about Matisor:
http://www.euro-kids.org/scotland/pages/romania/martisor.htm

*****************************
Worldwide use


*****************************
Things found on the way







haiku by Ioana Dinescu, artwork by Constanta Erca


martishor

- Shared by Ioana Dinescu
March 2012



*****************************
HAIKU

Markets come alive.
It’s only in :”Mărţişor” threads
That the snow’s melting.

The old street vendor
A “Mărţişor” enlightens
Her small, wrinkled face.

Selling amulets
To the gas company staff:
“Nice chimney-sweeper!”

Cristian Mocanu


*****************************
Related words

***** . Martenitsa in Bulgaria .
Celebrated on March 1.

　

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Magnolia (mokuren)

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO　　TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Magnolia (mokuren)

***** Location: Japan, worldwide
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Plant

*****************************
Explanation

Magnolia, lily magnolia (mokuren 木蓮, 木蘭) Magnolia liliflora
Literally: Tree Lotus Flower, Tree Orchid.



The most cultivated version in Japan. With purple blossoms.

violet magnolia (shimokuren 紫木蘭) Lily magnolia blossoms
white magnolia (hakuren 白蘭）Magnolia denudata
Sarasa Mokuren (更紗木蓮)
Karasu Mokuren (烏木蓮)


Magnolia buds,
which are visible long before the fowers open, add a sence of the early spring to this flower.




The country of origin is China, but they have been introduced to Japan in the 10th century as a garden flower to enjoy in spring. The blossom has six petals, which get as long as 10 centimeters. They all point in the same direction when open. They have a faint smell of spring. The form of the blossom resembles the lotus, hence the Japanese name, which can be written with the Chinese charactersfor lotus 蓮 or orchid 蘭.

The fallen petals create a violet carpet and evoke the feeling of sadness and passing on of life, some sort of "mono no aware".

The white magnolia, which flowers earlier, found its way to Europe in the 18th/19th century and became very popular soon. Magnolia is the English version of the word "mokuren" .

Photos and text by Gabi Greve

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for early summer

taisanboku no hana 泰山木の花 (たいさんぼくのはな)
taizanboku no hana 大山木の花（たいざんぼくのはな）
taisanboku no hana 大盞木の花（たいさんぼくのはな）

blossoms of the Magnolia grandiflora


ooyama renge 大山蓮花 (おおやまれんげ) "lotus of a large mountain"
..... 天女花（おおやまれんげ）
miyama renge 深山蓮花（みやまれんげ）
Magnolia sieboldii


*****************************
Worldwide use

USA

The magnolias in the southern USA, are similar to Big Fragrant Magnolia mentioned below, big petals creamy to milky white. The trees are considered one of the few broadleaf evergreens.

magnolia --
a pleasant scent
in the shade

Their large blossoms shed the palm sized petals looking like porcelan white giant Chinese soup spoons! Their blossoms' fragrance is delicate and pleasing on a sultry summer evening walk.

Chibi (Dennis Holmes)

*****************************
Things found on the way


. sange 散華 "scattering blossoms" amulets .


*****************************
HAIKU

magnolia blossoms -
the sky today
without a blemish

Look at the corresponding photo by Gabi Greve here:
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2005/05/magnolia.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


mirroring
coromandel magnolia
in the fishpond

© Geert Verbeke
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


far away beneath
the magnolia petals
the morning sun ~

Narayanan

Look at a beautiful photo at the Haiku Gallery
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/PH_detail?photo_sn_in=1130

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


blooming magnolia
girls fidget
for Easter pictures

Mary Gamble
http://www.millikin.edu/haiku/courses/globalspring2001/MaryGamble.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Ein Frühlingshauch der
Morgenröte färbte zart
die Magnolien.

a faint spring breeze
in the pink morning colors
the magnolia

Magnolien gehören mit zu den ersten Frühlingsblühern. Ich liebe ihre porzellanartigen, tulpenförmigen, pastellfarbigen Blüten.

Dietlinde Heider

Look at her German Akrostichon about MAGNOLIE
http://www.haikulinde.de/weblog/archives/00000102.htm

Great Photo of one blossom
by Brigitte Blechschmidt
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/442486/display/1286261

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


magnolia buds
swaying before the bamboo -
just that

Gabi Greve, April 2009
(Click for the photos!)


*****************************
Related words

***** Mountain Magnolia (kobushi 辛夷)
こぶし 辛夷 木筆
yama mokuren 山木蓮（やまもくれん）Magnolia kobus
..... kobush hajikami 、こぶしはじかみ
yama araragi やまあららぎ
shide kobushi 幣辛夷（しでこぶし）
tauchizakura 田打桜（たうちざくら）

kigo for mid-spring
Magnolia kobus


http://www.salisbury.edu/arboretum/Magnolia/MaKo/MaKoHM.html

Other Japanese names:
Mountain Magnolia (yama kobushi 山辛夷、yama araragi やまあららぎ, shide kobushi しでこぶし)
Cherry for starting planting the fields (tauchi sakura 田打桜)

This variety is native to Japan. It grows in many mountainous areas. The name means litteraly: small fist, since the buds look like such. They are also used in Chinese medicine.

In my area of Okayama, the hot spring of Okutsu (奥津) celebrates its annual Kobushi Matsuri, the Wild Mountain Magnolia Festival during the first two weeks of April. The sight in the gorge with the steep cliffs shining white with all the flowering trees is superb.



http://www.tamatele.ne.jp/~hiroyuki-n/416-sinrinkouenn/4162-pronoazi.html

wild mountain magnolia -
the ravine alive with
car exhaust

There are so many people squeezing in the small ravine, it is amazing.

Gabi Greve

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


*****Big Magnolia Flower (Hoo Flower)
朴の花（ほおのはな) hoo no hana
hoo no hana 厚朴の花（ほおのはな）
hoo sange 朴散華（ほおさんげ）
kigo for early summer

Magnolia hypoleuca. The fragrant magnolia.


http://www010.upp.so-net.ne.jp/pha/flo0405hounoki.htm

This beautiful flower on its large leaves is a pleasure to find in any forest. Since the flowers sit on the large leaves, they are hard to detect and better viewed from far first. The contrast of the white flowers with the dark green leaves is splendid. The small petals in the center of the flower are also worth a second look.

It has a lovely smell and the leaves are used for fragrant teas and even bean paste (miso). The name HOO derives from "fragrance" 包.

The tree has a slightly white bark. The wood is soft and easy to process, it is used for wooden clogs Geta 下駄 and piano parts.

Gabi Greve

雷鳴のしづもる夜明け朴の花

early morning
after a night of thunder -
fragrant magnolia blossom
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Haiku-An - Natsu


. sange 散華 "scattering blossoms" amulets .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Lunchbox (bentoo) (05)

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Lunchbox (Lunch Box, boxed lunch, lunch in a box)
弁当(bentoo, bento, Japan)

***** Location: Japan, Hawaii
***** Season: Non-seasonal Topic
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

This entry started with a remark by "chibi" (pen-name for Dennis M. Holmes) :

Modern haiku is much like obentoo. "Eat with your eyes."

barriers and borders separate and hold
regional delicacies starting with rice

so ordered ... so precise

variations found in the e-fish-ency of fast food sometimes difficult to find where the gravy ends and the styrofoam begins

an analog
my haiku to
obentoo

make mine umeboshi
I'll have a ball
I'm on a roll

..............................................

This led to a series of haiku, see below.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The lunchbox, bentoo　弁当 is not a kigo, so we can use it as a non-seasonal topic for haiku.
But there is one kigo, where the lunchbox features, see below.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


http://japanesefood.about.com/library/pictures/blbento.htm

There are many types of lunchboxes in Japan.

The Aisai Bentoo 愛妻弁当, prepared by a loving wife.

today
the lunch she packed
reminds him that sometimes
a bland white so and so calls for
some spice

Frabjous Times
Originally published: 2004/12/08 19:13:53
http://www.magahiz.com:8080/frabjous/blog/aisaibento.html

.. .. .. .. ..

The Japanese Flag Bentoo (hi no maru bentoo　日の丸弁当)

We have a Japanese lunch box with just plain white rice and one red dried salty plum (umeboshi) in the middle, which is called hi no maru bentoo, lunchbox like the Japanese flag!



a handful of salt
and one cherry
my Japanese flag

Geert Verbeke

You can read more about this bentoo in my explanations here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1666

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

hand-carried lunchbox, te-bentoo　手弁当

lunchbox with Chinese food, chuuka bentoo 中華弁当

piping hot lunchbox, hokahoka bentoo ほかほか弁当
.... (This is now a foodchain in many busy districts.)

http://www.seriart.co.jp/main/sozai/contents001/017bento/017bento.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Short History of the Bentoo
by Natasha Hsieh

A Japanese bento, or packed lunch, is a reflection of Japanese history and aesthetics. The earliest records of packed lunches in Japan date back to around the fifth century, when outdoor laborers took food with them to eat on the job. The word “bento” was later coined in the 16th century by military commander Oda Nobunaga to describe the single-serving meal distributed to his military.
In the Edo Period,
bento departed from its functional roots and became an essential part of outdoor excursions and the theatre. Maku-no-uchi bento 幕の内弁当, literally bento “between curtains,” referred to the bento people ate during the intermission (maku-no-uchi) of day-long kabuki shows.
Edoites’ love
for the arts and theatre is reflected in the extravagant maku-no-uchi bento. Generally, a maku-no-uchi bento contains tidbits of seasonal flavors from the mountain, sea, and field. Rice, the staple in Japanese cuisine, is molded into bitesized rolls and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Then everything is artistically arranged in a lacquered wooden box with four quadrants, paying special consideration to the balance of color, size, and taste.
With the development
of the railway system at the end of the Meiji Period, maku-no-uchi bento left the theatre and entered train stations to be sold alongside other ekiben, or “train station (= eki) bento.” 駅弁
Ekiben features the specialty of the area in which the station is located; Chinese shumai (steamed dumpling) bento are often sold in Yokohama stations, and crab bento can be found in Hokkaido. Ekiben is now an indispensable part, as well as pleasure, of a train journey.

©2004 YOKE. All rights reserved.
http://www.yoke.city.yokohama.jp/echo/0404/c.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Further Reading

MAKU-NO-UCHI-BENTO　　　　　　　
by HATA　 Kohei
Bilingual Essay

He concludes his essay thus:
According to a hoary old dictionary, the word bento was apparently coined in the age of Oda Nobunaga. It meant "organizing and distributing quantities of rice, stewed meat and vegetables, sake, side dishes, bowls, and trays according to the number of people present at outdoor dinners."
The compound was derived from ben zuru (managing, performing, carrying out) and to (allocation, distribution), in other words, dishing out rations.
One is relieved to find an explanation.

http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~hatak/emag/data/hata-kohei12.htm

.. .. .. .. ..

History of the Lunchbox
1 History
2 How to make a bento
3 Types of Bento
3.1 Other
http://www.masterliness.com/a/Bento.htm

*****************************
Worldwide use

Hawaii

The word bento is Japanese for "lunch." And the term "mixed plate" is a beloved Hawaiian term for a plate bearing foods from multiple cultures.

The National Museum exhibition, From Bento to Mixed Plate: Americans of Japanese Ancestry in Multicultural Hawaii, explores how Japanese immigrants in Hawaii created new lives for themselves -- and became part of a colorful, dynamic, multicultural society.

Through a combination of videos, interactive educational activities and more than 400 artifacts and photographs, the exhibition tells a story of adaptation that began with the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in the late 1800s and continues with the vibrant and diverse generations that constitute today's Hawaii.



http://www.janmstore.com/bento.html


*****************************
Things found on the way

Lunchboxes and Daruma San
by Gabi Greve

To eat one of the fresh prepacked lunchboxes with a local delicacy while riding a train is one of the joys of this country. But beware, or you will end up as one of my German friends.
He bought a delicious looking pink box with red ribbon wrapped around it, but when he opened it he looked bewildered.

"What is wrong?"I asked him.
"I thought I had bought a box of chocolates (Pralinen), but what is this? Dead fish and cold rice! Horrible! I lost all my appetite for sweets!"

What happened is a comon thing:
you take an image of your own culture and project it into an unknown culture. Pink and red ribbon equals chocolate box in Europe, but not in Japan!
So even while buying a simple lunchbox we have to learn about cultural differences. I always tell this story to make people aware of the problems of intercultural differences.
Japanese men wear a suit and necktie, but the heart inside is quite different!



... ... ...

The Spelling of BENTOO, learn about the Hepburn System
Bento, o-bento, o-bentoo, obento, oobentoo, bentou, bentoh ... which is correct?
by Gabi Greve

*****************************
HAIKU

life is like a bentoo ... ever so often it's a pickle

Edmund Schwellenbach

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

life is like a bentoo ..
when it is finished,
thrown in the dust...

Gabi Greve

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

弁当の　新聞読むや　夏木立
bentoo no shinbun yomu ya natsu kodachi

lunchbox -
reading the newspaper
under summer trees

Nakamura Sakuo

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

> sumo san --
> for you, i bring
> a bentoo crate!

>> shane gilreath

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

o-sumoo no ganbare bentoo bikku ben



sumo wrestler
keep it up
Big Ben too

© Haiga by Nakamura Sakuo

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



catering company
bentos
with an attitude

Shanna Moore
Look at a phantastic collection of Lunchboxes from Hawaii.

*****************************
Related words

***** First Lunchbox, bento hajime 弁当初め: kigo for late spring.

This is a lunchbox eaten at the memorial ceremony for .. Saint Hoonen .. (Hoonen Shoonin, Honen Shonin　法然上人) in April.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .

.......................................................................

..................................... Niigata 新潟県

. Grandmother selling fish .

.......................................................................


- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -
115 to collect

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. ekiben 駅弁 station lunch box .

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- #bentoo - #bento #lunchbox
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Love-bug (05)

nnnnnnnnnnnn TOP nnnnnnnnnnnnn

Love-bug (Plecia nearctica Hardy)

***** Location: Southern Part of US
***** Season: Summer
***** Category: Animal

*****************************
Explanation

We used to travel through Florida in the summers. Sometimes the bugs were so thick that you would have to stop every 100 miles or so to clean the radiator grill and windshield or you would end up with an overheated engine and a opaque windshield (the windshield wippers were more smearers than wippers).

"chibi" (pen-name for Dennis M. Holmes)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Yep.
That's what they really look like. They're most often seen in flight and crawling around in exactly this most compromising position. Every day for four weeks at a time. Twice a year. Everywhere you look. All day long.

They're not bad bugs.

They don't bite. They don't damage crops. They don't fly at night. They're not an environmental hazard. They're just...

Annoying.
...
Once successfully coupled, nothing on earth will ever sever or dis-sever their love. In fact, after the act is done, the male becomes just so much dead weight. The lady love bug turns her thoughts to being momma love bug, and she simply flies off. Unfortunately, daddy is still sort of locked into momma, and that's the familiar perspective we Southerners get to see, as in the drawing above.
If he's lucky, she'll drop him off (or rub him off) on a handy bit of foliage. If he's unlucky, she'll just keep flying along with him haplessly in tow. (Dr. Phil Koehler, of the University of Florida says they like to "fly united.")

The female then lays her eggs. Her average life span is about 68 hours, but if she's got it in her to rise again, she can extend her life to about 89 hours, which is the only evidence I've ever heard of that this particular act can extend one's life span!

Sometimes hundreds of these copulating bugs per minute. Splat on the windshield, the mirrors, and the fins of the radiator. With enough love bugs, visibility through the windshield is reduced. Add enough love bug carcasses, and a car will overheat.

Love bug bodies are slightly acidic all by themselves, but if they remain in place on a car's finish for one or two days, bacterial action causes them to become more acidic, and they can etch car paint.

Dr. Koehler says that a love bug's "one important natural enemy is a car."

More is here:

http://www.kudzumonthly.com/kudzu/may02/lastword.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


*****************************
Worldwide use


*****************************
Things found on the way


*****************************
HAIKU

love-bug -- better the boot than the bonnet

Actually this is probably a tad TOO witty for haiku, but, boot and bonnet are car part British names (boot = American car trunk; bonnet = American car hood). Love-bug is an insect not much larger than the width of a man's thumb that mate during the summer in the South
(especially in Florida). There are clouds of these insects on the roads and splatter the fast traveling vehicles with a rather grotesque thickness of bodies. The bugs seem attracted to the heat of the asphalt and subsequent fumes.

The verse is a pun on the idiom "getting the boot". So, it is better for the bugs to "hit the boot" or rear of the car, than, the bonnet or front of the car... if you get what I mean.

"chibi" (pen-name for Dennis M. Holmes)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Joined at the waistline,
Flitting around the air in love.
They are unashamed.

Splat, splat, splat-splat-splat.
Memorial Day road trip.
A windshield drum roll.

TBO, Florida
http://reports.tbo.com/reports/lovebugcomment.htm

*****************************
Related words

*****

*****************************
Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
worldkigo@yahoo.com

WHC Worldkigo Discussion Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WHCworldkigo/

Back to the WHC Worldkigo Index
http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/

Light offerings afloat (tooroo nagashi)

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Light offerings afloat (tooroo nagashi)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Autumn
***** Category: Observance

*****************************
Explanation

Lantern offerings, lantern offerings on the water, lantern drifting, lantern floating, lantern festival

tooroo nagashi 燈籠流 (とうろうながし)
..... shooryoo nagashi 精霊流し（しょうりょうながし）
ryuutoo 流燈（りゅうとう) ryuutoo e 流燈会（りゅうとうえ）


The Japanese festival for the souls usually takes place at O-Bon in August. It has many traditional acitvities which are all kigo for this season. We will explore those in a different entry.
Here we are concerned with the light offerings during this season.

To send an offering off to the sea, most auspiciously toward the west where the Paradise of the West with the souls of thouse passed away were residing, is an old custom in Japan. In olden times it could happen in Shikoku and other areas to send off boats with living people, mostly monks, and food for three days... on a tour straight to paradise.


One of the popular light offerings is the floating of lanterns, a form of a light offering to the souls. The lanterns represent the souls of the depassed ondes. Usually it is accompanied by a firework display.



Offerings of Light、toomyoo kuyoo 灯明供養

© Photo Gabi Greve

Read more about it here:
. Koyasan Light Offerings - Wakayama .



Other words related to the fire ceremonies during the O-Bon season.

welcome fire, mukaebi, mukae-bi 迎え火
fire at the house corner, gate-fire, kadobi 門火
tama mukae, tamamukae 魂迎え（たまむかえ） welcoming the soul
..... shooryoo mukae 精霊迎え（しょうりょうむかえ）
ogara 苧殻 (おがら) string made from hemp (to light the mukaebi)
..... asagara 麻殻（あさがら）、asagi あさぎ
ogarabi 苧殻火（おがらび）fire lit with hemp string
kababi 樺火（かばび）fire lit with beech wood
tama matsu 魂待つ（たままつ） waiting for the souls
bonbi 盆火（ぼんび） Bon-fire
shooryoobi 精霊火 (しょうろうび) fire for the souls

This is lit on the first day of O-Bon at the entrance of each home to welcome the souls of the ancestors back. In many rural areas it is lit in the middle of the main access road to the farm estate. When a person of the household had died within the last year the ceremonies for the first O-Bon (hatsu-bon) are especially rich and the welcome fire is most important to show him how he is missed.

(Some Internet and other sources quote "okuribi" as "welcome fire", but this is not correct, see below.)

................................................

daimonji 大文字 (だいもんじ) Daimonji fire
..... daimonji no hi 大文字の火（だいもんじのひ)
Myoohoo no ni 妙法の火（みょうほうのひ）
funagata no hi 船形の火（ふながたのひ）
toriigata no hi 鳥居形の火（とりいがたのひ）
sebi 施火（せび）

................................................

fire for seeing off the souls, send-off fire, okuribi 送り火

This takes place on the last day as a ritual for the family at home and at some places it developed to big festivals, the mosts famous is possibly the

Great seeing-off fire in Kyoto, Daimonji-Yaki　大文字焼き
August 16, at Higashiyama Kyoto
Kyoto Gozan Okuribi 京都五山送り火


http://www.dicube.co.jp/e-kyoto/gozan_okuri/
.........................

Gozan no Okuribi (五山送り火), more commonly known as Daimonji (大文字), is one of the iconic festivals of Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the O-Bon festival on August 16th, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased family members, who have been visiting this world during O-Bon, are believed to be returning to the spirit world — thus the name Okuribi (送り火) (roughly, "send-off fire").

The origins of the festival are obscure, but it is believed to be ancient. Specific families have the hereditary duty of organizing all the logistics of the bonfires, and they spend many hours annually providing volunteer labor to maintain this tradition.

Starting at 8PM, the giant bonfires are lit, each with a distinctive shape. Three of the fires form giant Japanese characters, and two form familiar shapes.

©　Read more in the WIKIPEDIA !

.........................

This ceremony is also called according to the various forms of the fires. On the below illustration, you can look at them with the Gate on the left, Dai 大　on the right and the others inbetween. They are spread on five mountains (gozan　五山).


http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/en/01/01-04-04.html

Great Left Dai Fire, Sadai 左大　
Fire of the Great Law, Myoohoo no hi 妙法の火
Fire in the form of a gate, toriigata no hi 鳥居形の火
Fire in the form of a boat 舟形の火

This fire is now the bringer of autumn to the Kyoto population. In special parts of the forest large fires are lit, in the form of DAI 大, maybe representing the gread deity Dainichi Nyorai, there are 75 large piles of firewood lit at the same time.
Another fire takes the form of the letter MYOO 妙　(125 piles of wood) and HOO　法 (75 piles), representing the Buddhist teaching. Fires in form of a boat for sending off the souls are also common when these fires offerings are performed in other cities, for example.
The form of a gate (torii)in Kyoto is made of 108 bonfires, where people run up and down the mountain to place the piles of firewood, so it is a kind of "running fire".


Hakone Daimonji-yaki
Nara no Daimonji Okuribi (with 108 piles of firewood) which is now the largest in Japan.

................................................................

Ceremony of ten thousand lights (mandoo-e　万灯会, 万燈会)
at the Temple Toodai-ji on August 15,
also
Sentoo Kuyoo 千燈供養

Light Offerings : Koya San in Wakayama

.................................................................................




hootooe, hootoo e 奉燈会 (ほうとうえ) light offerings
mandoo e 万燈会（まんどうえ）
yoi Kooboo 宵弘法（よいこうぼう）
at temple Daikaku-ji in Saga, Kyoto 大覚寺
August 20

This is the night before the monthly memorial day of Kobo Daishi.
The lights from the hall reflect beautifully in the great pond before the temple.


................................................................


108 Fires, hyakuhattai, hyakuhatchitoo 百八燈
On August 15, at Nambu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture


http://www.town.nanbu.yamanashi.jp/kankou/himatsuri/himatsuri-tourou.htm

Also called
Fire Festival of Nambu, Nambu no himatsuri 南部の火祭り
108 Pine Torches, hyakuhachi kyoomyoo 百八松明
hyakuhachi tai 百八たい （ひゃくはちたい）
nagetaimatsu 投松明（なげたいまつ）"throwing torches"
nagendei なげんでい

This festival is held as a seeing off for the souls and also to pray for the protection of the rice fields from insects, a form of seeing off the beetles, mushi okuri.
. mushi oi 虫追い（むしおい）seeing off the insects, bugs and beetles 　
mushiokuri 虫送り (むしおくり) seing off the bugs
Sanemori matsuri 実盛祭 Sanemori festival
and more KIGO



108 (hyakuhachi) is a symbolic number in Buddhism, representing the 108 illusions (bonnoo　煩悩) of the human mind.

Bonnoo, the worldly desires, a haiku topic 　　　　　　　　　　

*****************************
Worldwide use

Hawaii

Two girls watch one of about a thousand lanterns set afloat in the waters off of Ala Moana Beach near Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii May 30, 2005.
The annual paper lantern floating ceremony called 'Toro Nagashi' is held yearly to honor the dead. The paper lanterns float on a wood or bamboo base and each lantern carries the name of the person being remembered and can also include a special message for the spirit. The lanterns are set afloat to guide the spirits on a safe journey over the ocean to their spiritual home.


http://tinyurl.com/8qrfc


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Mongolia





in candle light
the path for enlightenment
appears

Bulgan mountain is in Tsetserleg city, where I live. On the 15th of each month by lunar calendar people from Tsetserleg light candles on this mountain.

- Shared　by Zaya Nergui -
Joys of Japan, 2012



*****************************
Things found on the way

Japanese Links with many pictures about the floating lights.
http://www.dicube.co.jp/e-kyoto/gozan_okuri/ !!!
http://www2.nkansai.ne.jp/org/kasumi-kanko/html/infomation/touro-.html
http://home.att.ne.jp/gamma/shimada/new_page_14.htm

Daimonji
http://www.kansaidoyukai.or.jp/yakei/100kei/matsuri/html/931p-e.html
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/en/01/01-04-04.html

...................................................................

English essay about O-Bon and the Hina Festival.
http://ml.hss.cmu.edu/courses/Japanese/sm00/culture%20project/culture.smith.html

Safekeep copy is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Haiku-Essays/message/109

......................................................................

English essay about Okuribi Fires.
There are 3 views about history of Gozan-okuribi. First, Kukai started it in the Heian period. Second, Asikaga Yoshimasa started it in the Muromachi period. Lastly, Konoe Nobutada started it in the Edo period.
Third view is the most popular because it says in a book “annaisha” written in 1662 that Konoe Nobutada started okuribi of daimonji. Anyway it was started in the early modern century. The oldest book about Gozan-okuribi was written in 1603. In 1983 it became an intangible cultural asset. It is a mysterious festival.

Gozan-okuribi is the Bon Festival. Bon is traditional event to pray for the spirits of ancestor. Every year August 16, five mountains are lighted various shapes at night, so this festival is called Gozan-okuribi. Gazan means five mountains. First mountain is Daimonnjiyama part of Higashiyama Nyoigatake in Sakyo ward. Shape of “大” is lighted there. This okuribi is the most famous.

Second, shape of “大” is lighted at Kinkakuji Daimonnjiyama in Kita ward. It is called Hidaridaimonnji. Third, shapes of “妙” and “法” are lighted at Matsugasakinishiyama and Higashiyama in Sakyo ward. Fourth, a picture of gateway at the entrance to a Shinto shrine is lighted at Mandarazan in Ukyo ward. Lastly, a picture of boat is lighted at Nishigamosenzan in Kita ward. This festival is held to see sprits of ancestor the other side. Its beauty　make us move of course. It is a religious event and also artistic event.
http://www1.tcue.ac.jp/home1/english/students04/class21/104503/

Japanese Link 日本語:
http://www.kyotokanko.co.jp/kyotosummer/daimomji.html

*****************************
HAIKU

大文字背伸びする娘の背中越し
daimonji senobi suru ko no senaka koshi

Daimonji Fire -
I look over the streched back
of my growing daughter


大文字ノの字の早く絶えにけり
daimonji no ji no hayaku kie ni keri

Daimonji Fire -
the letter DAI
fades so fast

圭子
http://park6.wakwak.com/~zakkayasan/haikuk2.htm

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


人去って万灯きへて鹿の声
hito satte mandô kiete shika no koe

people depart
ten thousand lanterns dying...
the cry of a deer



同じ年の顔の皺見ゆる灯篭哉
onaji toshi no kao no shiwa miyuru tôro kana

a wrinkled face
he's my age...
lanterns for the dead



草蔓もわざとさらざる灯ろ哉
kusa tsuru mo waza to sarazaru tooroo kana

even grass and vines
don't part willingly...
lantern for the dead

Kobayashi Issa
(Tr. David Lanoue)
http://tinyurl.com/d4kc7





:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　


tooroo o mizu ni oku te o nobashikeri

putting the lantern
to water -
I stretch my arms

Suzuki Masajo



ryuutoo ya futatsu no hashi no kakaru machi

lanterns floating -
in this town
there are two bridges

長沼 紫紅


hyakuhachi koomyoo kieshi makkuro no ame no oto

108 pine torches -
they go out and in the dark
the sound of rain

佐野妙子

Saijiki for Buddhist Events

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

送り火をこえてショパンの流れけり　　波郷
okuribi o koete shopan no nagare keri

above the sending-off fire
the music of Chopin
floats along

Ishida Hakyo

More haiku about the Bon season are here:
http://www.buzan.or.jp/koumyou/144/shuchou.html

*****************************
Related words

***** Star Festival (Tanabata, Japan)
There is also a floating of lights during this festival, 七夕流し,tanabata nagashi.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


humanity kigo for all summer



soomatoo 走馬燈 (そうまとう)
revolving lamp, revolving lantern
..... mawaridooroo 回り燈籠（まわりどうろう）

They are beautifully decorated and provide a play of light and shade on the wall. They were quite a hobby in the Edo period.


... Light offerings at Koya San in Wakayama




走馬燈月のひかりをやどしけり
soomatoo tsuki no hikari o yadoshi-keri

revolving lanters
seem to have caught
the moonlight

Kubota Mantaro (Mantaroo) 久保田万太郎
(1889 - 1963)


十二支みな闇に逃げ込む走馬燈 　
juunishi mina yami ni nigekomu somatoo

twelve zodiac animals
all escape to darkness
of the revolving lantern

Kuroda Momoko 黒田杏子
. Tr. Fay Aoyagi


. . . . . . . . . .



suikajoochin 西瓜提燈 (すいかぢょうちん / 西瓜提灯)
watermelon lanterns
Similar to the pumpkin lanterns for Haloween.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


- Lichtopfer　-
Deutsch

. . . . . TEXT
Buddhistische Kultgegenstände Japans



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

. tooroo uri 燈籠売（vendor for Bon-lanterns .


[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::